1 March 2021. The Government of Lao PDR, through MOH conducted nationwide table-top exercise on 25 and 26 February to discuss the implementation of the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for the COVID-19 vaccines.https://www.who.int/laos/news/detail/01-03-2021-lao-pdr-prepares-for-roll-out-of-covid-19-vaccines

28 February 2021. The first batch of 117,600 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Vietnam on February 23. And on 24 February 2021, the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine also landed in Thailand.

28 February 2021. While China has pledged to ship hundreds of millions of vaccines abroad, domestically the rollout of inoculations has been slow, raising concerns that restrictions on international travel will remain until at least next year.https://www.ft.com/content/58ca570e-38ee-404f-90f5-57c21c458058

27 February 2021. The 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived in Thailand and will be distributed to 13 provinces, with frontline health workers, health authorities, and those at higher risk being the first to receive the vaccine.https://dancham.or.th/covid-vaccine-distribution-plans-for-thailand/

27 February 2021. While it is early in 2021, the two countries reporting the most dengue fever to date in southeast Asia are Vietnam and the Philippines. Dengue can become severe and be medical emergency that requiring hospitalization.https://outbreaknewstoday.com/dengue-fever-in-vietnam-and-the-philippines-among-the-most-globally-so-far-in-2021/

19 February 2021. Cases of dengue fever in Laos have reached 122 since January and the highest number of dengue patients were reported in Lao capital Vientiane at 32. The ministry encouraged people to clear potential mosquito breeding sites around their homes and workplaces.https://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-02/19/c_139752838.htm

23 February 2021. Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has announced 11 groups of individuals who will be the first to receive COVID-19 vaccination in the country next month. Vaccinations will be implemented nationwide, while the order of priority for each locality will depend on the number of COVID-19 cases and virus-related deaths, urban areas and population, and important traffic hubs.https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210223/vietnams-health-ministry-lists-target-groups-for-upcoming-covid19-vaccination/59419.html

24 February 2021. Chinese pharmaceutical makers are seeking market approval from Beijing for two new coronavirus vaccines – one that has shown 72% efficacy and another 69% efficacy in human Phase III trials.https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/02/24/970915305/chinese-pharmaceutical-makers-seek-approval-for-new-coronavirus-vaccines

24 February 2021. Local authorities across Laos continue to implement preventive measures and closely monitor people entering the country to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 2,335 people has been quarantined at 27 accommodation centers across the country. https://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-02/24/c_139763867.htm

24 February 2021. China has made progress in tuberculosis control, but this disease remains a burden in many regions of China. Time-series analysis was performed to examine changes in the rates of newly notified and newly smear-positive cases of tuberculosis in different regions of China from 1997 to 2018 and assessed the effect of the current control program.https://idpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-021-00806-7